Why is Haiti so poor?

Newsweek posted an interesting interview with Michele Wuker of the World Policy Institute about the reasons for Haiti's crushing poverty. She mentions US military intervention, along with farm subsidies and food aid, as being a big part of the problem. She said of Haiti's devastated agriculture industry:

As for Haitian farmers competing with U.S. imports, it raises the larger question of how the U.S. subsidizes its farm industry and dumps surplus crops in the form of food aid. This practice has done a lot of damage in Haiti and other developing countries. For Haiti to sustain its own people, it needs to rebuild the roads and infrastructure needed to transport crops internally.

Here's an informative video from the Heritage Foundation on farm subsidies.

Gold, Gold, Gold, and more Gold.

Wow. It is simply amazing to see all those gold predictions that we've been listening about by people like Peter Schiff and Jim Rogers come true. It just reaffirms my faith in our cause...

"The Fed reiterated the fact that they'll keep interest rates low to stimulate growth, which will ultimately lead to a weaker dollar and higher inflation," said David Beahm, vice president in economic research at Blanchard & Co. in New Orleans.

Combined with demand from central banks, the continued drop in the U.S. dollar "is a great recipe for gold," he said.

All Roads Lead to Rome

From Bloomberg.com:

The U.S. Commerce Department is setting up an office intended to help entrepreneurs transform ideas into companies.

What a genius idea!! Why didn't we think of this before?!  Of course! The GOVERNMENT should help facilitate the materialization of ideas in the marketplace! 

The administration will try to “catalyze breakthrough” technologies so that economic growth won’t be based on speculative bubbles, the White House economic council said in a report the same day.

So you're saying that the parasitic bureaucracy that leeches on productivity while enabling a Ponzi economy will be the indirect arbiter of societal innovation?  Good plan.

Introducing LOLA...

LOLA, Ladies of Liberty Alliance, is an up and coming women's organization that aims to educate, mobilize, and train libertarian women within the movement.  We are hoping to create an environment for women to learn and gain confidence to fight for what they believe in.  

This September 1st the ladies will be holding a "calendar bomb" similar to fundraising bombs in the recent and past.  For a $20 donation you will receive a 16 month calendar debuting some of the top women activists in the liberty movement.  The calendar will be the initial fundraiser to gain resources needed to begin LOLA's mission.  Please visit the LOLA social networking site to purchase your calendar!

The actual unveiling of the calendar will take place at the Northeast Regional Campaign for Liberty Conference in Valley Forge, PA.

Please support LOLA and their desire to bring more women into the movement!